Monroeville bounces back in road FC win

GREENWICH — The Monroeville boys basketball team bounced back from a loss with a strong second half in a 70-57 win over host South Central in Firelands Conference action Wednesday night. With the win, the Eagles improved to 7-4 overall and 6-2 in the FC, which keeps them tied with Western Reserve (8-5, 6-2) for second place behind Plymouth (10-2, 7-0). The Eagles led just 20-18 after one quarter and 34-30 at halftime. They then outscored the Trojans (6-7, 2-6) by a 36-27 margin in the second half to win by double figures. Ethan Pomerich returned from a hand injury suffered against Willard on Dec. 27 in Knightstown, Ind., to score a game-high 18 points for Monroeville. He also added seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Derek Ackerman, also just three games in to a return from a football injury, had 16 points and five rebounds, while Colton Koch added 15 points. For South Central, Wyatt Hall and Bryan Chaffee each scored 17 points. Chaffee added five rebounds, four assists, four steals, and three blocks. Wes June also had seven points and 11 rebounds. Both teams are scheduled for FC games on Friday. The Eagles visit Crestview (6-8, 5-3), while the Trojans entertain St. Paul (7-8, 2-5). The Eagles defeated the Cougars, 59-58, on Dec. 18 in Monroeville. The Trojans defeated the Flyers, 70-54, on the same night. MONROEVILLE (7-4, 6-2) Maverick Myers 3-2—8, Link Schaffer-Paull 2-1—7, Ethan Pomerich 8-1—18, Derek Ackerman 7-1—16, Cole Perry 1-4—6, Colton Koch 7-0—15. TOTALS 28-9—70. SOUTH CENTRAL (6-7, 2-6) Brayden Viock 2-1—5, Wyatt Hall 6-0—17, Wes June 3-0—7, Dom Paynter 1-0—2, Tanner Back 1-0—3, Bryan Chafee 7-1—17, Gavin Olney 1-0—3, Troy Ayers 1-0—3. TOTALS 22-2—57. Monroeville 20 14 19 17 — 70 So. Central 18 12 13 14 — 57 3-point FGs: (M) Schaffer-Paull 2, Pomerich, Ackerman, Koch; (SC) Hall 5, Chaffee 2, June, Olney, Ayers. JUNIOR HIGH NMS teams face Bellevue NORWALK — The Norwalk Middle School girls basketball teams defeated Bellevue on Wednesday in SBC Lake Division play at the NMS gym. The eighth-grade team improved to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the league with a 38-24 win over the Lady Red. Londynn Clifton led the team with 13 points, followed by Brynn Sellers with 11 points. Stella Kipp and Lilli Kipp each scored seven points for Norwalk, which visits Perkins on Monday. The seventh-grade NMS girls improved to 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the SBC Lake with a 44-18 win behind 17 points from Lexi Schmidt and 14 from Kayla Naseman. Also scoring for Norwalk was Addie Hance (8), Katherine Russ (2), and Ella Ames (2). Meanwhile, the NMS boys' teams traveled to Bellevue on Wednesday. The eighth-grade team fell to 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the Lake with a 50-32 loss to the Redmen. Blake Muskovich scored 18 points in the loss, while Jacob Tyler had six points. Landon White and Ryker Crumrine each scored four points for the Truckers, who take on Perkins at home on Monday. In seventh-grade play, the Truckers improved to 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the Lake with a 38-19 win as Maddox Gamble paced the team with 18 points. Eli Schmidt added six points, followed by Ethan Jones (5), Benny Sellers (4), Keaton Ostheimer-Burke (2), Lincoln King (2), and Hunter Knoll (1). The Truckers also got solid defense off the bench from Parker Nickoli, Zane Scheid and Drew Hamernik in the win.